Paper 14145-61
Paper 14145-61
Study of the high-resolution imager instrument for the Habitable Worlds Observatory
8 July 2026 • 14:50 - 15:10 CEST | Room B4-M3
Abstract
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is NASA’s planned flagship mission for directly detecting and characterising Earth-like exoplanets around nearby Sun-like stars. A UK Space Agency–funded study is assessing a potential UK-led high-resolution imager (HRI). Science drivers from the HWO Science Case define required performance across the UV–optical–near-IR, including sub-microarcsecond astrometry for exo-Earth mass measurements and support for guiding and wavefront sensing.
Concurrent Design Facility work is evaluating optical architectures, detector options, mass and volume limits, and data-handling needs. Early assessments focus on optical modelling, stability and tolerances, and sensitivity and throughput estimates. Initial results show that high-stability, high-sensitivity HRI designs are feasible, outlining key requirements, technology risks, and a development path toward a mature HWO instrument concept.
Presenter
The Open Univ. (United Kingdom)
Dr Jesper Skottfelt is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Electronic Imaging (CEI) at The Open University in the UK, where he has been working since 2015.
He is currently leading efforts to develop UV-optimised detectors for future space telescopes, notably for the proposed CASTOR UV telescope and the upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). Under his leadership, CEI is performing detailed electro-optical testing, quantum-efficiency measurements, and space-qualification of CMOS detectors tailored for UV observations.
In parallel, Jesper has been deeply involved in radiation-damage testing and ongoing in-orbit monitoring for the Euclid mission. He helped develop simulation tools and has implemented a technique to detect and characterise radiation-damage In the Euclid VIS CCDs, which provide input to the correction of radiation-induced image degradation, work that remains critical for Euclid’s VIS instrument’s ability to deliver high-precision cosmological data.